Portal: The Darkness
by michaelhay
Summary: Set in the early eighties of Aperture Laboratories, a deadly secret is being kept from its test subjects. Will they be able to uncover the mysteries under the watchful eye of the scientists? A rebellion seems more and more likely by the day ...
1. Chapter 1

My God. That was a hell of a long fall down.

She had been standing here for about three minutes now, contemplating whether to jump or not. Chell knew she had her boots on which were supposed to absorb the shock of any fall. But _still, _it was scary. Scary that you could land on your face- or stomach, or any other body part that wasn't the feet.

_Jump, _she thought. _Just do it._

Suddenly there was a loud noise, and her hands shuddered with vibrations. _Damn it, _she thought, as a spray of blue erupted from her Portal Gun. The light shot across the chamber and dissolved against a panel of steel caging. She had clutched a little too hard on the trigger. There was no time to think anything else before she stumbled back, losing her footing and slipping.

Painfully, Chell's elbow smashed against the edge of the platform and with a cry- she fell.

'OH MY GOD!' she screamed as she tried to regain orientation- whilst fully aware that she was hurtling to the ground alarmingly fast.

The beige floor was now approaching, and Chell had only just slipped her hand back into the gun again. With as much force as she could muster, she closed her eyes and triggered- distantly hearing the sound of the portal materialising.

The only thing she could hear now was the sound of the rushing air as her momentum increased. For a while, this was all she could hear. Then, quite abruptly, it stopped. She seemed to have come to a halt.

'_Good work_,'a voice boomed, from the loud speaker that hung loosely above the exit, in his usual rough tone. '_Bean counters told me that this chamber was pretty hard. Ha! You proved 'em wrong._'

'Thanks,' Chell murmured, all the while knowing that the messages were pre-recorded. There was no way Mr Johnson could personally oversee all of the testing.

Quietly, she made her way through the emancipation grill and walked up the metal stairs, listening to the clanking noise her boots made against it. As she reached the top, she heard the instantly recognisable sound of lift doors opening.

There were already some people inside it- two scientists and an engineer. Casually, Chell joined them and the lift doors closed. With a sudden shudder, it started moving upwards.

'So,' one of the scientists said to the other. 'Has Johnson spoken to your group about it?'

'About what?' the other replied, sounding confused.

'He went on and on about how he wanted to put someone in a computer- their mind- their brain- or something like that.'

'It sounds crazy to me,' the engineer shrugged.

There was a hiss of compressed gas, and the doors slid open. She was here. Carefully, Chell stepped out and felt the cool air sweep across her face. It felt good to be back in the lobby.

'Hey Chell,' she heard, as she started to make her way to the resting vaults.

It was Flynn, someone she had been paired with on many occasions- and also happened to be one of her roommates.

'Hi Flynn,' Chell smiled, wearily.

He nodded to her elbow, exposed for all to see, since she had rolled up her sleeves. 'Looks painful,' he remarked.

'It's not as bad as it looks,' Chell winced, as she flexed her arm.

'I'm sure,' he said, looking her in the eye.

For a moment, they stood there, staring at each other. It was Chell who was the first to break the trance. 'I'm just ... going to take a nap.'

'OK,' Flynn said, putting his arm on her shoulder. 'See you in a bit.'

Gratefully, Chell turned around and walked through the open door, remembering to shove the Portal Gun through the chute. It fell down the pipe, only to be caught by the tractor beam which pushed it along into another pipe. Several other Portal Guns were trailing behind it as they made their way to another beam. The process was organised, and simple. Chell had seen this countless times before, but didn't actually know where they went sent off to.

With that done, she walked on through the metal door and continued into the hallway. It was lined with other metal doors- five on each side, spaced about a metre apart from each other. Each door lead into a room that contained four separate resting pods. They weren't actually assigned to a room, but after a week, they had gotten used to sleeping in the same pod and made it theirs.

She made her way to the third door up on the left and opened it. The door swung open noiselessly and she heaved herself in. Suddenly, she felt incredibly tired.

Beside each pod was a grey box that was attached to the wall. When they woke up and then they arrived back from testing later, the box would dispense a small box, in which would be a bit of food and several grapes. And an orange pill. There was always a pill. They had been instructed to swallow the pill, for it contained the vitamins and nutrients that the food did not. Too make swallowing easier, they also dispensed a sealed carton of water. Whether it was fresh or not, Chell did not know. But frankly, she didn't care. You had to be hydrated if you were testing, which was every day. If you didn't hydrate then it was only a matter of time until you would soon find yourself falling to your knees in a chamber with exhaustion and very dry throat.

Chell yawned and sat down on her pod, lying back on the plush blue fabric. Feeling bored, she reached out to her left and felt for the box. It was there. She pulled it towards her and opened it. Inside were five chips and six green beans. It was hardly filling, but she had gotten used to the emptiness. Oh, and the pill. Always the pill.

It was a wonder that she wasn't getting any skinnier. She ate this amount every day and still she wasn't getting skinnier. She still felt the same. Maybe it was pill.

_All for the better, I suppose, _she thought as she threw back her head and swallowed the pill, with the aid of a gulp of water.

Then she sat back and idly ate some chips whilst staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes slowly drifted down to the clock at the end of the room. She had long lost her sense of time since coming here, as had everyone else. This clock was not here to reinvest in that, but to tell them when their break would be over. There was only one hand, and there was no numbers. Instead, the clock face was comprised of two colours. The left hand side was blue, and the right was orange.

The orange side represented their break. The hand always seemed to move quicker on that side, giving them maybe about forty minutes. When the hand reached the blue side, it meant they had to get in their pod and sleep.

'Hey Chell,' she heard, as someone entered the room. It was Thana.

'Thana,' Chell heard herself say. 'Hi.'

'Are you okay?' Thana asked, walking over to her pod, opposite hers.

'I'm fine,' Chell replied, watching as her roommate swallowed her pill. 'So how did testing go today?'

Thana sat down on her pod and put a grape in her mouth. 'Pretty good,' she said, nodding slowly. 'Apart from this.' She zipped down part of her jumpsuit to reveal a gory mess of blood, seeping out slowly from a small hole in her chest.

'Oh God,' Chell breathed. 'Turrets?'

Thana nodded. 'It's still stinging, but not as much. They say the cutest things. Then they try to kill you.'

Chell could only agree. She hadn't encountered them very often, but knew enough to stay out of their sight.

The door opened and Flynn walked in, sparing a glance at the clock. It was nearly time to sleep.

Following closely behind him was Nelson, the fourth roommate. He was a tall, dark haired and muscular. Most of the other female test subjects often threw him loving glances, but not Thana- and certainly not Chell.

'How's everyone?' he asked, cheerfully.

'Sleepy,' Thana muttered, as she watched the hand on the clock reach the end of the orange half. Suddenly, the doors hissed shut. Now they were sealed. There was no getting out.

The lights dimmed, and the red lights on the pods activated. They would only go off once you got in them.

'Night everyone,' Flynn said, as he climbed into his.

There was an echo of 'nights' and 'goodnight' from the others as they all proceeded to get in the shell-like devices, including Chell.

She murmured her last goodnight and slid down into the pod. Her elbow slid against the glass, sending a sharp shot of pain up her arm and causing her to startle in alarm. Just as the glass began to close, she quickly ducked her head under and eased the rest of her body into the pod.

Now she was completely under, and the glass sealed itself above her. There was only one last thing to do.

Sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

She blinked in rapid succession before her eyes were accustomed to the bright light. It was supposed to simulate daylight, but was no more than a revolving light in the middle of the room.

_Have I woken up early?_

This usually happened. Since the pods were automated, they were only set to open at a designated time, in which case she'd have to wait.

She was just about to close her eyes and reminisce about random things, when a flow of air brushed across her face. The glass slid open and she opened her eyes again.

Chell rubbed her eyes and heaved herself out of the pod, taking her time to look at the clock. The hand had just gone into the orange section. This meant they had their break. When it got to blue, they'd have to go off and do their day's testing.

'Chell,' Thana said, staring at her.

Chell picked up her box from the dispenser and turned to look at Thana. 'Yeah?'

'Look,' Thana replied, in awe. She had zipped down part of her jumpsuit just as yesterday; except now there wasn't a mess- in fact there was no sign of blood, or any holes- or any scars- or ... anything. The skin was fresh and healed, as if she had never been hurt.

'It happened again,' Chell said, in wonder. With that, she put down her box and rolled up her sleeves to her elbow, marvelling at the sight. It was healed as well. There was no mark of a graze or of disrupted skin- it was as good as new.

'How do they do that?' Flynn wondered out loud.

'Maybe it's the pill,' Nelson shrugged.

'Everyone's saying it's the pill,' Chell said, thoughtfully.

Nelson took a gulp of water and swallowed his pill. He drank the rest and turned to her. 'Well, why not? I mean ... we take it every day, don't we? Two a day, even.'

Chell remained silent. She had a strong gut feeling that it wasn't the pill. Someone two rooms from her had broken two of his fingers from a perilous fall. He had gone to sleep in agony, and the next day, his fingers had somehow unbroken themselves. No pill could be strong enough to heal bones like that. _In one night_.

Instead of attempting to argue, she shrugged and sat down, taking the box into her hands and opening it. It was the usual awakening meal. Bread, a bit of ham and grapes. In the corner of the box was a smaller compartment, in which contained the pill. She eyed it suspiciously, wondering whether to take it or not.

Thana must have sensed her hesitation.

'Chell,' she said. 'Please, take it. I mean, this is all good right? At least the pill isn't doing anything bad to us- it's helping us, right?'

'Alright,' Chell agreed, cursing herself for giving in so easily. She drank some water and the pill slipped down her throat. Chell could only imagine what it was doing inside of her.

She spent the rest of her break sitting down against the wall tearing her bread apart and putting pieces in her mouth.

The clock hand reached the blue half, and on the dot, as usual, the door clicked.

Flynn and Nelson made for it almost immediately. Thana walked over to Chell, helping her up to her feet.

'Thanks,' Chell said.

'More testing today,' Thana sighed, as they made their way to the door. 'All so routine.'

'A lot of science is routine,' Chell reminded her, and they laughed.

It felt good to laugh.

They joined the flow of the other test subjects and were swept away through the hallway into the main lobby. In the centre of the room were four rectangular boxes. They were joined together to form a kind of square. In each box were ten Portal Guns, which each fitted perfectly in each of the ten slots.

Each test subject would just approach a box and take a Portal Gun- and that would be one they use for the testing for that day. And at the end of the day, just as before, they would have to post it back through the tube.

By the time Chell reached the boxes, most of them were taken. But that was no issue. There were forty people, and forty Portal Guns. There would also be one left for her. No one was allowed to take two. And everyone knew better than to breach the rules.

Careful not to drop it, she placed her hand inside the bottom of the gun and drew it out, using her other hand to hold it steady.

'Got yours?' Thana asked, holding up her Portal Gun.

'Yup,' Chell replied, shuffling her fingers around inside the gun to find a comfortable position.

'Off we go then,' her friend smiled. They set off together, trailing after the group of other test subjects.

They arrived just in time to hear their room being called out by one of the scientists.

'-and Room 3L,' he said, slowly pronouncing the 'three' and 'L' in such a way that it sounded like he was trying to talk to a bunch of idiots.

'That's us,' Thana said, quietly to Chell.

Without another word they quickly moved to end of room, joining Flynn and Nelson. A female scientist, dressed in the usual white lab coat and tied back, complete with a clipboard, approached them.

'Room 3L?' she mouthed, turning her clipboard around to let them see the number three and letter L.

Flynn nodded for them. The scientist bobbed her head a little and made a face that seemed to show she had no idea what to do next. Quickly remembering, she led them away to a metal door to the side of the lobby.

'Does she have idea what she's doing?' Thana whispered to Chell.

'Doesn't seem like it,' Chell whispered back.

They watched in silence as the nervous scientist fumbled with the card that was hanging around her neck. It slipped from her hands and she made an impulsive grab for it, forgetting she was also holding a clipboard. Losing her grip, it fell to the floor, clattering noisily.

Another scientist walked over to them, Raymond Harkins. He was a regular- Chell had seen him many times before, and everyone knew of his constancy to shout at anyone who breathed.

'Slater! What the hell are you doing?' he growled, fighting to keep his voice down. 'Can't you see we're trying to sort out the god damned lab rats? And you are _not _helping by carelessly dropping things when you feel like it.'

'Sir-'

'Get back to work,' Harkins dismissed, flatly.

'Yes sir.'

Quietly, the young scientist picked up her clipboard and turned to the door, passing her card over the small box beside the door a couple of time to get it open. On the fifth go the door clicked open, and she went through, holding it open for the four test subjects to get through.

'Are you okay?' Chell asked, as soon as the door closed behind them.

She was about to reply, but her mouth slowly closed before she could utter a word. Instead she said, 'I'm not supposed to converse with test subjects on matters non-test related.'

Chell looked at Thana, who shrugged at her.

'You're a newbie, right?' Nelson asked, furrowing his eyebrow.

The scientist remained silent, walking on ahead as though she couldn't hear a thing.

'What's your name, at least?' asked Flynn.

She mumbled something in a low voice, so low that no one could make out what was saying.

'What?'

'It's Kelly,' she said, louder. 'It's Kelly, okay? And I'm just trying to do my job.'

Nelson opened his mouth and was about to say something, but thought better of it when he caught sight of Thana and Chell's glares.

'So what are we being tested on today?' Flynn asked, looking behind them cautiously.

'Finally,' Kelly sighed. 'A test-related question. You're going to be testing repulsion gel.'

'Again?' Thana wondered out loud.

'Hey,' Kelly shrugged, 'I don't make the rules round here.'

With that, she led them through another door and into a long hallway. There was a long blue line that stretched away from them, turning at a corner ahead of them.

'Follow the blue line, right?' Nelson queried, staring at the floor.

'That's what it says here,' Kelly answered, giving her board a quick glance.

Together they followed the blue tape across the empty room. Around the corner were an emancipation grill and a metal catwalk, connecting to a lift that Chell recognised all too well.

'Well,' Kelly started, breathing deeply. 'According to this, Chell is meant to go first.'

Quietly Chell stepped forwards. Kelly gave her a warm smile.

'Alright,' she said. 'Go ahead. We'll see you later.'

Thana patted her on the shoulder. 'Stay safe out there,' she said, in a low whisper.

'I'll try,' Chell croaked, as she made her way through the emancipation grill.

She passed through it safely and clanked across the catwalk to the lift. The doors shuttered open and she stepped inside, watching nervously as the doors sealed shut. After that, the lift started to move downwards.

Within seconds, the lift creaked to halt. Chell carefully stepped out onto yet another catwalk. This time, she leant against the railing. As she did so, the entire structure creaked, causing her to temporarily lose balance.

That was when she looked down.

'Fudge,' Chell said, through gritted teeth. The entire floor was swamped several metres high with a murky green and red liquid. It was enough to tell her to stay out of it.

She decided to look back up and to focus on the test itself.

'Facts,' Chell said to herself. _You need facts. And what have we got? Let's see ..._

The chamber was quite narrow, but impressively tall. Chell looked upwards, and could see another room. It was attached to the wall, and had one entire side exposed. It would be hard to reach. She was about to shoot a portal up there, but realised there was a large emancipation grill covering it.

_Facts,_ thought Chell. _C'mon. So we've got a room. Most likely to be where I need to get to._ _But what else?_

Then she saw something ahead of her. It was undoubtedly a small red button that was just waiting to be pressed. Carefully, she followed the dots that linked the button to whatever it activated. The blue dots went down the wall, across the bottom of the chamber, and back up to a massive dispenser hanging above Chell.

Without hesitation, she pressed it. The dots instantaneously turned orange and there was a strange squishy noise. Chell stepped back as the dispenser lids opened and released several blobs of blue liquid. They fell seamlessly, splashing against the panel she had been standing on just a moment ago.

_OK. So there's the gel. Now where do I use it?_ She looked up to the room again and gave a deep sigh.

Treading carefully, Chell walked across the gel to the button again, looking upwards to the dispenser. Out the corner of her eye she saw something. _Damn. How did I not see that?_ It was another beige panel, obscured from sight by the massive gel distributor tube. _So where does that lead?_

Directly under the panel was in fact another panel, placed at a slanting angle away from her. _Of course, _Chell realised. _Bouncy_ _gel. Slanting panel. How obvious._

Without another moment's thought, she placed a portal on the panel behind the button and another on the panel on the ceiling. Then, excitedly, she jabbed the red button. It made the noise again and the gel started to fall. But instead of splattering over the panel, it flew through the portal and out of the ceiling one, heading downwards again. It finally splashed against the slanting panel.

_Well done Chell, _she thought, smiling despite herself. _Now I just need to find a way to bounce off the panel._

It wasn't long before she found a quick and easy solution. All she had to do was to jump through the portal she had placed on the ground beneath the gel dispenser.

'Here goes,' Chell muttered, as she jumped through it.

She found herself hurtling downwards out of the ceiling and hitting the panel with brute force. The gel absorbed most of the shock, and used her momentum to send her flying through the air towards the high room.

_I made it, _she thought, as she sailed though the large fizzler and stopped inside the room. _Now to find an exit._

Carefully, she walked along the room. Without warning, there was a loud spark of electricity, throwing Chell off balance in surprise. A panel to her left dropped to the floor and a red beam appeared, aiming in all directions, crazily, wildly- as if it couldn't decide what to aim at.

_**Hello? Searching.**_

__**'**Oh, shoot,'Chell grimaced. Then she realised what she had said. 'I mean, don't shoot! Don't shoot!'

_**Target acquired,**_ it said as the red beam locked onto her. Its arms expanded on each side, revealing its guns. Then it started firing.

Chell barely scrambled to her feet before the bullets missed her. They clanged against the panels harmlessly. The test subject flung herself against the wall where she hoped she couldn't be seen.

_**Is anyone there?**_

__Chell breathed deeply, forcing herself to breathe slower and to calm down. It was just a turret. _Just a turret. But what the hell was it doing there?_

She shook her head and decided to continue on. The exit was just up ahead. As she walked along, she became increasingly aware that there wasn't just one turret- and as if to confirm her suspicions, there were several more sparks. Several panels opened up, revealing the little horrors.

_**Hi.**_

_** Hello.**_

_** Hi.**_

_** Searching.**_

_** Hello.**_

__With three more burst of electricity, three panels of the other wall dropped to the floor. Behind them- turrets.

_**I see you.**_

__Chell ran, trying to block out the noises of guns and bullets against metal. The exit was growing closer and closer now-

'Oh damn,' Chell thought, feeling her shoulder start to sting. She had been shot.

Carefully, she stumbled into the lift, collapsing to the floor in a heap. The pain was only just beginning to mount. Soon it would be undeniably agonising. Blood began to drip onto her hands.

'Chell?' she heard. It was Thana, who had been waiting at the exit lift for Chell to arrive. 'Are you alright?' Behind her stood an anxious group consisting of Flynn, Nelson and Kelly.

'I've been shot,' Chell winced. 'Look,' she said, holding up her hand. It was clean.

'Chell?' Flynn asked, certainly.

'I swear,' Chell gaped. 'I swear there was blood. I was shot! I felt the pain!'

'By a turret?' Kelly asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Chell nodded, allowing Thana to help her to her feet.

'Chell,' Kelly started. 'This clipboard- it gives me the details about your test. I tell you it as a fact- there are no turrets.'

The test subject felt her shoulder. It was painless. There was no blood. Her shoulder was fine. She turned to Thana.

'I swear it to you,' Chell whispered, 'I saw turrets. They shot me.'

'I don't know ...' her friend replied, in an equally low voice. 'Are you sure?'

'Positive.'

'Then I believe you.'

'We should get back to testing,' Kelly said. 'You guys got a lot more to do.'


	3. Chapter 3

They spent the rest of that day testing more repulsion gel and propulsion gel. There were rumours circulating that there was a new gel being researched and manufactured. This intrigued most of the test subjects.

'What do you think it might be?' Chell asked, looking around. She had been persuaded by the other three to forget about the turret incident, and Chell found herself inclining to forget it as well- but she knew she couldn't. It had been far too real to forget.

'It could be bomb gel,' Nelson shrugged. 'You know, blowing things up.'

'I don't think so,' Thana said, slowly. 'They wouldn't want to arm us test subjects with explosives. God knows what we might do with it.'

Chell felt something ignite inside her. _Explosives. I'd break out of here._

'You gonna eat that?' Nelson asked Chell, pointing at the box beside her pod.

'I am now,' Chell said, taking a deep breath.

She opened the box, wondering what she might find inside. There were two breaded fish fingers and exactly six circular pieces of carrots- not to mention the three grapes and another pill.

Suddenly, Chell felt extremely hungry. Without thinking, she stuffed the fish fingers into her mouth and took three carrots at a time, throwing in some squishy grapes for good measure. When she had finished, she quickly drank the water and took the pill, at the same time as thinking if she'd even _not _have it.

The clock hand was quickly approaching the blue section. Chell gave it another glance and decided to do something she hadn't done for a long time.

'What are you doing?' Thana asked, as she watched Chell remove her boots. 'You know, we're not supposed to do that.'

'These boots,' Chell said, defiantly, 'are giving me hell.'

She unlatched the clips and slid them off. They came off easily enough, and Chell bent over to place them beside the table. As she did, she noticed something etched into the ground under the pod.

Carefully, Chell took the time to run her hands over the floor. As it passed over the black marking, it fell into a kind of groove from where the scratches dug into the ground.

'Are you OK?' Thana called.

'I'm fine,' Chell told her. 'I just …'

'Just what?'

Chell didn't reply. Instead she stared at the black marking, trying to make sense of it.

_**G37 0vT z0M**_

___What does it mean? What is it code for?_

Then she realised. And as she did, her stomach tightened. Suddenly, those grapes were taking their toll on her.

It wasn't a code. It read: GET OUT NOW.

But that wasn't what worried her.

It was her handwriting.

But she didn't remember writing it.

Chell awoke with a gasp, banging her head on the glass painfully. Well, that woke her up proper.

It was the same old dream. The one where she was in the park and could faintly see her father, with the Sun shining behind him. They would hug and play catch, but then the ball would turn into a potato. She would look down at it, and then suddenly the scene would change. They would be at Aperture, where he had brought her in on his workday. She would sit at a workshop and write about her potato experiment, but then everything would darken, and she would be all alone.

Chell knew her father didn't leave her purposely. He was out there, alive, breathing, thinking of her. _Yeah right. _It was what she wanted to believe. But deep down, where the truth really stung, she knew- felt, even, that he wasn't coming back. Recently, these dreams were becoming more frequent, and the Sun was getting brighter each time. Her father would become more and more distance each time she saw him.

She closed her eyes and made a quick prayer, wishing her father the best, wherever he was.

The glass suddenly retracted and she got up, raising herself against the blue fabric. As she reached down beside the table to grab her boots, she instead grabbed air. _They're not there._

Quickly, she looked down to her feet. She was already wearing her boots. 'I took them off,' Chell exclaimed. 'I saw! You saw!'

'I guess,' Thana yawned, stretching her arms.

Thinking quickly back to yesterday, Chell dropped to the ground, looking between the table and pod again. The message was still there, hidden from sight. She gulped, letting her worries take over for a moment.

_Only for a moment._

Before long she snapped back to herself. _I'll find out the truth, _she thought, determinedly. _Whoever wrote this message wants me to get out. Who?_

Still thinking furiously, she ate some food and drank the water, slipping the pill down as well.

'Come on Chell,' Thana said, as the door opened.

'Right,' she replied, following Thana into the hallway.

They joined the flow and before long they made it to the boxes where the Portal Guns had been arranged. Chell chose one and pushed her right hand into it. Thana did the same.

Together they set off towards the platform where the scientists would read out the rooms and what testing they would be doing.

Since the scientists were always about five minutes late, this gave them some time to talk to each other. But this morning was different to the others. It soon became apparent that something was wrong.

A fight had broken out between two of the boys, and a ring of test subjects had surrounded them, almost encouraging them to fight. For the majority of them, this was the entertainment that Aperture had so little of.

'What's going on?' Chell asked, as she joined Flynn, who was watching with a look of concern.

'It started out as an arm wrestling match,' Flynn explained. 'But ol' Bill Reeves started accusing Harry of cheating. Things escalated pretty quickly and then into this.'

'It's silly,' Chell remarked.

'They're probably just really tired,' Flynn shrugged.

'Tired? We get the same sleep as them, and look at us.'

'Not that kind of tired,' Thana said, joining them both. 'Tired as in grumpy tired. It's the same for all of us. We wake up, we test and we go to sleep. Day in, day out, the same- all the time. It's driving some of us insane.'

'Hey guys,' Nelson said, calmly. He pushed through the ring and approached the two boys who were getting at each other in a crazy rugby tackle. 'Break it up.'

'Only if he does it first,' Harry snarled, pushing harder.

'I ain't apologising for your problem!' Bill yelled back, matching Harry's force.

'Guys!' Nelson said, raising his voice. 'I said, stop it!' With that, he prised his hands between the two of them, who had locked horns neck and neck. With brute force, Nelson easily pushed them apart, stepping into the gap he had created to stop them getting at each other. With a final push, he managed to shove each of them in opposite directions. They both clashed against the ring of test subjects, which broke at either side from Nelson's force.

The pulsating ambience died down and all adrenaline drained from the crowd, including the two boys. Suddenly, they felt exhausted.

'Thank you for that, Mr DeFalco,' a scientist said- Harkins. He had appeared from nowhere and no doubt had been watching. 'If someone could please escort these two young men to Sector CSV, then that would be perfect.'

Two volunteer scientists stepped forwards and took hold of Harry and Bill, leading them away through a door at the back of the room. A moment ago, their face had been full of rage and anger. Now it had been replaced with fear.

'What's Sector CSV?' Chell quietly asked Flynn.

'No idea,' he replied, flatly. 'I know about as much as you do.'

As Harkins took to the elevated platform, more scientists began to pile into the room, each holding a clipboard. The usual reading process began again, and started at 1R- the number representing the amount of doors up, and the letter was either R or L, for right or left.

'Room 3L,' Kelly called out.

Chell and the other three separated themselves from the crowd and joined Kelly upfront. She was much more organised today, and in a direct fashion, led them to the door where she expertly swiped her card over the box. It read the details the first time round and let them through.

'You again?' Nelson asked, as soon as the door shut. 'We don't get the same scientist two days in a row.'

'I'm new,' Kelly said, walking onwards, carefully inspecting each door. 'I get a permanent group … for now.'

'Kelly,' Chell said, slowly. 'What's Sector CSV?'

'I wouldn't know,' the scientist replied, looking at her clipboard and then to Chell. 'I've never had a reason to go there … so I'm not allowed to be there.'

They came to a halt.

'Here we are,' Kelly nodded. 'It's paired testing for you four today. Chell, you're testing with Thana, if that's alright.'

'It's fine,' Chell said, smiling at her friend.

'OK then, off you pop.'

Thana and Chell opened the door and walked along the bridge, through the emancipation grille and into the lift.

It was time to start testing.

**Testing Status: In Progress | Percentage Complete: 86%**

'No, no!' Chell shouted, frantically, pointing at a button half way across the room. 'Over there!'

They were on their last test, and this was proving to be tougher than the rest. They had been separated, with Chell on the platform connecting to the exit and Thana left stranded on the other side.

There was a massive wall of laser in the middle of the room which would incinerate skin at the first contact, so flinging over was out of the question. There were no portal panels on Chell's side, so Thana couldn't simply portal over. There was a solution, but Chell could barely see anything through the lasers, which were immensely red and bright. She could, however just about see the button. And it needed to be pressed.

Unfortunately, Thana was too far away to hear her.

'Hang on!' Thana shouted, looking around wildly. 'I think I can see a way out. Bear with me!'

Chell casually wandered to the exit. It was locked, and would remain so until both subjects were in front of the door. In the corner of the room were several panels. They had been disconnected from the wall and left leaning against the steel caging. Chell could see a thick flow of wires bulging behind the caging, which had a circular hole cut out of it. A black rubber handle stuck out of the wires.

She gripped her hand around it and tugged. The item fell loose with the wires and Chell took it out, holding it to the light to see what it was. It was a hammer. An engineer must have been trying to make repairs but clearly gave up.

Without hesitation she stuffed it into her jumpsuit.

Inside her head, a voice scolded her. _What do you think you're doing? Put that back right where you found it!_

_ Not a chance, buster,_ Chell thought back. _I'm going to get to the bottom of some mysteries, and this will be very handy._

'_Ouch!' _she heard Thana wince.

'Thana,' Chell shouted. 'Are you alright back there?'

'I'm good,' her friend called back. 'This ought to do it.'

There was the sound of a button being pushed and suddenly, the laser wall vanished. Out of the speakers, a ticking noise began.

Moments later, Thana was soaring through the air and safely through the danger zone, but only just- as the laser wall reactivated just as she passed through it, nearly frying off her leg.

'Good work,' Chell commented, as she ran to Thana, who was lying on the ground exhausted.

'I'll say,' her friend said, wearily. She accepted Chell's hand and was pulled to her feet. 'I think I've sprained my ankle … badly,' she grimaced.

'Lean on me,' Chell offered.

'Thanks,' Thana flinched, as she put some weight on Chell.

Steadily, they moved to the exit, with Thana limping and Chell keeping her balanced. The door recognised their presence and swiftly opened for them. It was slow and painful work, but they made it across the catwalk and into the lift, where they took a breather and some time to catch their strength.

'I appreciate that,' Thana said, breathing deeply, but giving a small smile.

'It's fine, honestly,' Chell told her. 'I know you would have done the same for me.'

The elevator came to a halt and promptly, the doors slid open. Kelly was already waiting for them.

'Hello,' she beamed. 'How was it?'

'Fun,' Thana said, making a face, 'but painful.'

'Good testing, you two. Now you two ought to go and get some well deserved rest- go on, off you go.'

Thankfully, Chell and Thana moved along the hallway, passing uncountable amounts of scientists and engineers. The lobby was no better. It was mainly full with test subjects.

This was one of the only times test subjects could mingle with each other and converse with subjects from other rooms. Some others liked to read the newspapers, and as for the TV, well, it mainly displayed Aperture-related things. In the corner of the room was a robot that served coffee. It was a new addition to the room, along with several posters of how 'Karla the Complainer' complained that her new boss was a robot.

_Robots, _thought Chell. She didn't quite yet know what to make of them.

There was another poster which showed a female scientist holding hands with a robot. The caption read: 'Let's work together'.

Not many of test subjects approached the robot for coffee. Doubtless to say, it probably scared them. It didn't frighten Chell. But she couldn't help feel uneasy. The scientists and engineers were more accustomed to being around robots, and had no trouble walking up to it to get a drink.

'Can we head to our room?' Thana asked, weakly.

'Sure thing,' Chell nodded.

They removed their Portal Guns from their hands and posted them through the tube. That done, they walked through the metal door and then another until they were finally in their room.

Nelson and Flynn were already in there, chatting enthusiastically about their tests.

'You should see me man,' Nelson drawled. 'Those turrets didn't see it coming, I tell ya.'

'I bet,' Flynn replied, stifling a laugh.

Thana let go of Chell and staggered to her pod, and collapsed onto it thankfully.

'Someone's tired,' Flynn commented.

'Understatement of the year,' Thana sighed, reaching for her box.

Chell dropped onto her own pod, where she mulled over the day's events. As she sat up, something dug into her stomach. The hammer.

Thankfully, it hadn't been fizzled by the grilles. _It makes sense, _Chell thought. Engineers needed to take their equipment everywhere to keep the test chambers in a constant state of workability, so the emancipators had probably been configured to let the tools pass through.

Chell suddenly wondered what she was going to do with it. _Hammers were made to hit. What am I going to hit? _Then a flash of inspiration washed over her. She almost choked on the thought.

It was crazy. It was dangerous. She had no idea what might happen. But for once in an extremely long time, she felt more alive than ever. And she loved it.

'Are you okay?' Thana asked.

_Never been better, _Chell thought. But instead she said, 'I'm alright. How's the ankle?'

'It'll get better tonight,' Thana shrugged.

_Always does. And I am going to find out why._

'Well,' Nelson yawned, as the lights began to dim. 'Goodnight you lot.'

One by one, they slipped into their pods properly, getting comfortable.

Once under, Chell thought things over again. _Should I do it?_

The glass hissed and slid to seal her inside. Chell gripped the handle of the hammer tighter.

_Come on, _Chell thought. _Do it._

Suddenly, a vision of her standing on a high platform entered her mind. She had felt the same way when she was wondering whether to jump or not.

She had hesitated and that had nearly killed her.

'I'm not going to make the same mistake twice,' she murmured, as she felt her grip of the hammer increase again.

Chell raised the hammer up to her face. 'To freedom,' she whispered, as she brought the hammer up to the glass.


	4. Chapter 4

With astounding force, the hammer smashed against the glass. Clearly, Aperture hadn't anticipated that test subjects might bring hammers into the pod and use them to smash the glass, because it was already weakening.

'To freedom,' Chell repeated, as she continued to pound the glass.

It began to frost over. A web of cracks interlinked, appearing of their own accord, as though they were working with her.

'To freedom!' she then said, louder, feeling as adrenaline rushed through her, filling her with energy and replenishing her strength.

The glass was now on the verge of giving way. _One more ought to do it_, she thought, rapidly.

With that, she thrust the hammer upwards with as much as strength as she could muster. At that moment in time, she felt unstoppable. Promptly, the glass shattered, spraying over her just as she closed her eyes and covered her face with the blue fabric.

It wasn't over.

Suddenly, she began to hear a hissing noise. A tendril of smoke crept up her leg quietly. Her senses had been heightened from the adrenaline, and she felt it. Worriedly, she looked down to her leg. Grey smoke slowly rose from a small grille that appeared at the end of the pod.

_Get out, _she thought. _Get out right now._

Avoiding the sharp edges of the glass, she climbed out of the pod, landing on the floor noisily. She had kept her boots on for this.

Then she crept over to her pod, peering through the smashed glass. The smoke had now filled the entire compartment. She realised what it was. _Sleeping gas._ Inside, a blue laser swept across, scanning whatever it could find. If she was still in there, it would be scanning her.

Then something else happened.

The gas suddenly seeped away through another grille, and the blue fabric slid into the wall, revealing the base of the pod, which was just metal. That too, withdrew into the wall.

Confused, Chell quickly walked to Thana's pod. She was in there, fast asleep. She was lying on the floor under the pod.

_What the hell are they doing?_

She dropped to the floor, and reached out her hand in an attempt to tap Thana. She stretched just long enough to tap her several times. Thana stirred from her sleep briefly.

'Thana,' Chell whispered, urgently. 'We have-'

Suddenly, the floor started moving, just as Thana woke.

'What's going on?' she mumbled.

Chell watched in horror as the floor panel that Thana was lying on slid into the wall, exposing a room underneath. It grew orange. Suddenly, Chell realised that it wasn't a room.

_Oh my god. _Her insides lurched. It was an incinerator.

Chell impulsively stretched out her hand, reaching for Thana, who grabbed it.

It wasn't enough, and Thana began to slip. The heat was making her sweat uncontrollably.

'Chell,' Thana sobbed. 'What's happening?'

'I don't know,' Chell gasped, tried to hold onto her. 'Just hold on.'

'I can't,' Thana wailed. One by one, her fingers fell out of Chell's, until she had completely fallen from her grip.

'THANA!' Chell screamed, standing up to look through the glass of the pod as Thana fell further and further. She finally reached the bottom, where she was engulfed by the fiery hot depths of the incinerator.

It crushed her skin, tearing it from her body and melting it, and continued to do this until she had completely reduced to nothing but air.

Desperately, Chell ran to Flynn's pod. She peered through the glass, just about making out Flynn's still body being wrapped around by the orange liquid. The same was happening to Nelson's.

_They can't do this, _Chell thought, angrily. _This is murder._

There was another rumble, and the incinerators closed up, shuttling away. Another room moved to replace it. Chell saw the whole process. She stared it revulsion as a blue tractor beam activated.

She walked back to Thana's pod. Up the beam rose Thana, peaceful and solemn. Eventually, she stopped moving upwards because of the glass. The mattress suddenly extended, cutting off the beam. Abruptly, Thana collapsed onto the blue fabric. The tractor beam then switched off, and the panel closed, as did the metal base of the pod.

Thana lay in her pod, soundly asleep. It was major contrast between the Thana she had just seen incinerated by the fire.

_That's how they do it, _Chell mulled, feeling disgusted.

She thought back to the message she had found under her pod. It had been her who wrote it. She must have woken up as the mattress slid into the wall. It was her who scratched it into the ground. But she couldn't remember … why? Either it was the sleeping gas or the scientists were tampering with her brain.

A blue laser beam scanned over Thana and suddenly, a light flashed on in the centre of the room.

There was the sound of glass sliding open, and one by one, the test subjects awoke, feeling refreshed and new again.

'What happened to you?' Thana exclaimed, as she saw Chell sitting against the wall. 'You're hurt …'

Chell suddenly stood up, facing each of the other three in turn.

'Guys,' she started. 'We have to get out of here, please- I swear- we have to leave.'

Nelson stared at her, confused. 'Why?'

'Why?' Chell repeated. 'Because I've seen what happens at night- murder. They kill every test subject and replace them with clones.'

'What are you talking about?' Flynn scoffed, not unkindly.

'It's why you wake up, feeling fresh and new every morning. It's not because of the pill- it's because you're literally, a new person. The body you're in right now- it's new. We're clones!'

'That's not possible,' Thana remarked.

'I've seen it,' Chell replied, defiantly. 'I saw you scream as you fell into the incinerator. I saw you die.'

Suddenly, her fierce behaviour felt unnerving.

'Are you-'

'Don't ask me if I'm sure,' Chell said, unfaltering. 'I saw it.' She then pointed at her own pod. 'I smashed my way out of my pod, with this.' Chell held up the hammer.

The other three goggled at it, disbelievingly.

'Where did you get that?' Nelson gaped.

'Picked it up yesterday,' Chell answered, putting back in her jumpsuit. Then she glanced at the clock. They didn't have long left until testing started. 'Listen, something else happened yesterday. There was a fight.'

'And?' asked Flynn.

'Those two test subjects were taken away. To Sector CSV.'

Thana realised what Chell was planning to do. 'Oh no,' she said, alarmed. 'Chell, you can't.'

'Thana, every night, people are killed,' Chell told her, staring her in the eyes. 'Aperture is hiding something. And I bet Sector CSV will give me some answers.'

A silence fell across the room.

'Alright,' Nelson finally said. 'I'm in.'

Flynn nodded slowly. 'Me too.'

Chell bobbed her head gratefully. Then she turned to Thana, who was still hesitating. 'You don't have to do if you don't want to-'

'I will,' Thana said, plainly. 'I'll do it.' Then she smiled sadly. 'I'm not going to be left behind whilst you guys have all the fun.'

Chell sighed in relief. Although she didn't want to force Thana to it, she had been secretly praying that she would say yes.

'OK,' Nelson shrugged. 'So what, we break out right now?'

'Not yet,' Chell said, quietly. 'Not this soon. We need a plan.'

'This is never going to work,' Flynn groaned. 'We don't even have anything we could write on.'

A plan began to formulate within Chell's mind. It was nothing yet, but it was still evolving, changing as she remembered pieces of information. _Useful information._

'Kelly,' Chell realised.

The other three were busy discussing possible plans and outcomes, but automatically stopped talking. They turned to Chell, puzzled.

'Kelly,' Chell said, again. 'We need her.'

'Why?' Thana asked.

Flynn realised it too. 'Of course,' he said, awed. 'Kelly, she's a scientist. She'll have access to virtually everything the other scientists have. Cameras, maps, pens- paper, the lot!'

'But is she on our side?' Nelson grimaced.

'We could tell her,' Thana suggested. 'About what Chell saw.'

'It won't be enough,' Flynn shot back.

Chell closed her eyes and thought.

_I've never had a reason to go there … so I'm not allowed to be there._

Abruptly, the doors slid open. It was time.

Chell quickly gathered them together. 'If we're going to break out, we'll need weapons. During testing today, try to find things you might be able to use, that won't fizzle. Look for engineering equipment. Take it from the toolbox if you have to.'

Thana, Flynn and Nelson all nodded to show their understanding.

Suddenly, Chell felt very proud of them.

'Hey,' Nelson said. 'We're an underground rebellion group now, right?'

Thana laughed and Flynn grinned at Chell.

Chell couldn't help but feel happy herself. 'You could say so. Why?'

Nelson made a face that said: _Duuuh … _'Every underground group needs a name.'

'Alright,' Chell shrugged. 'Let's each come up with a name we like and tell each other later.'

Then they stood in a square, and each of them put their hands into the centre.

'To freedom,' Chell said, proudly.

Their hands went up with a cheer.

Feeling energised and full of happiness, they left their room and headed to the boxes to get their Portal Guns.

'This is so exciting,' Nelson grinned, as he slipped the gun onto his left hand.

'Don't talk too much about it,' Flynn warned him.

Chell picked up a Portal Gun herself, but then thought twice. An idea began to materialise in her mind. Instead, she picked it up and put it back down on one of the coffee tables. Then she walked to Flynn, who was busy chatting with Thana and Nelson.

'Hit me,' Chell said, quite suddenly.

Flynn turned to her, his face registering that of amusement and bemusement. 'What?'

Chell repeated herself. 'Hit me. Go on.' She pointed at her shoulder. 'Right here.'

'Why?'

'Just do it.'

Shrugging at the others, he lightly punched Chell on the shoulder.

'No,' Chell sighed. 'Like this.'

With abrupt force, she launched her arm at Flynn's shoulder, digging it right in. The impact was sudden and with such force, that it knocked him off balance and sent him tumbling on the floor.

'My God Chell,' Flynn wheezed, trying to sit back up. 'What's wrong with you? You were being inspirational only about five minutes ago.'

'Just play along,' Chell whispered, putting on her angriest face. 'Fight me, you lowlife!' she then shouted, pouring as much emotion as she could into it, which was hard, considering she didn't really mean it.

The penny dropped for Flynn. Immediately, he was back on his feet, circling Chell.

They eyed each other, smirking and making faces, occasionally insulting foully. The commotion had drawn the attention of the other test subjects, who had now created a ring similar to the one made the day before with Harry and Bill.

Just as Chell was about to launch into another fake fight, Nelson quickly stepped in, giving them a sly wink. 'Alright,' he said, loudly. 'Break it up.'

Harkins entered through the back door and quickly ascended to the stage, shouting commands at both the test subjects and scientists to maintain order.

The noise promptly died down and Harkins glared at all the test subjects, wondering why they were becoming so unruly as of late. Yesterday … and now this?

'You, and you,' he said, pointing at Chell and then to Flynn. 'Someone take them to Sector CSV, now.'

The same two scientists who led away Bill and Harry stepped forwards and signalled for Flynn and Chell to follow them.

As Chell passed Nelson and Thana, she quickly whispered into their ears. 'Stick together,' she said, quietly. 'And stay low.'

Kelly blocked their path at the door.

'I'm coming too,' she said, determinedly. 'They're my test subjects.'

Silently, the scientists nodded at each other.

Chell glanced at Flynn. He looked calm, and composed, which is more than what could be said for her. Her exterior was relaxed, but inside she was screaming. She had no idea what they might find.

'What the hell were you doing?' Kelly said, through gritted teeth.

'Improvising,' Chell replied, staring at the two scientists.

They continued to pace along the hallway, passing other important looking people. The scientists wore white lab coats, and the engineers wore blue jumpsuits, often seen carrying their toolbox wherever they went.

Finally, they turned into a smaller quieter corridor and then into another. Chell noticed they were getting narrower each time. It was evident that they were soon arriving at their destination.

She silently nudged Flynn, who looked at her, understanding what they had to do. He nodded in turn, and Chell hastily dropped to the floor in surreal pain.

The scientists whipped around, staring at Chell.

That was all the two test subjects needed.

Without hesitation, Chell quickly extended her leg, spinning it outwards. It collided with one of the scientists scrawny legs and he fell to the ground, landing on a temple- rendering him unconscious. Flynn gathered strength in his arm and punched the remaining scientist in the face, knocking him out stone cold.

Kelly stood back in shock. Like the two scientists, she had no idea what had just happened.

'Kelly,' Chell said, getting back to her feet. 'Lead the way.'

'What the hell?' she exclaimed. 'What are you doing? You attacked a scientist! That's against regulations!'

'To hell with regulations,' Flynn shot back. 'Do you have any idea what they do every night to us?'

Kelly was a loss. She had no idea what they were going on about.

Suddenly they could hear the gentle pattering of feet heading in their direction.

'Quick,' Chell said, hurriedly. 'Hide the bodies.'

Kelly snapped back to her senses and quickly rushed to a nearby closet, flinging it open and looking inside. There was just enough room.

Fortunately, the two scientists were quite light and thin, so Chell and Flynn had no problem dragging them into the closet. To finish off, they tied their hands and gagged them.

Chell felt bad for doing it, and could see the other two were feeling the same way, but she knew deep down that there was no return.

'Kelly,' Flynn quickly said. 'Let's keep going.'

Brushing themselves down, they continued onwards.

The young scientist composed herself as they approached the door at the end of the room.

Then, with a final nod to both Chell and Flynn, she gripped the handle and pushed down. The door creaked open and they walked into the next corridor.

'What is this?' Flynn asked, puzzled.

The walls of the corridor were made of glass. Behind the glass posed various objects- models of turrets, weighted cubes, buttons- the things Chell saw whenever she was testing. But she had never seen some of these designs before.

'It's like a museum exhibit,' Kelly said, breathlessly. 'It makes sense. The research centre is connected to this sector.'

They walked on, looking at the models in awe.

'What kind of research do they do?' Chell asked, looking at Kelly.

'Well, Aperture is always looking to create new equipment and technologies, but I don't really know what they're focusing on at the moment. It's a big place. Different projects can be carried out at the same time. Mr Johnson- the CEO, he's pretty keen to make some money from all this-'

Chell's mind suddenly erupted- and a string of memories filled her head. But only one thought stood out from the rest.

_So, has Johnson spoken to your group about it?_

_ He went on and on about how he wanted to put someone in a computer- their mind- their brain- or something like that._

'Kelly,' Chell gasped. 'Do you know _anything _about putting people into computers?'

Kelly stared at her, racking her brains to make sense of what Chell just said.

Chell studied her facial expressions, taking it as a no.

'Come on,' Flynn whispered, urgently. 'What are we doing here anyway?'

Kelly looked at him and then to Chell, worriedly. 'This is _not normal. _Whatever it is you two are planning, I don't think I like it. Why can't you stick to the rules?'

Flynn's eyes narrowed at her. 'What, like a good little test subject? It's too late to stop us anyhow. What we're doing is final …. Well … whatever it is we're supposed to be doing. Chell?'

Chell had not been listening. She was eying the door at the end of the room. The metal door with the red handle. There was a rectangular piece of glass centred on the door. The lid had been slid open, as if it were waiting for Chell to look through it.

'Chell?' Kelly asked, slowly.

Without hesitation, she moved to the door- walking at first, but then she found herself running.

Heart beating uncontrollably and eyes twitching invariably, she grasped the red handle and pulled herself up to the glass window. It was then that she realised just how scared she was.

Wiping her own breath vapour from the window, she peered through it.

Somewhere inside of her, a rush of adrenaline began to course through her veins.

Her eyes widened.

Her expression dropped.

She stopped thinking.

For this was the moment Chell saw Sector CSV.


	5. Chapter 5

Chell closed her eyes, as if it could make the image go away. But it wouldn't. It stuck fast, reaching out to her in the darkness.

Flynn quickly hurried to her side, wondering what she had seen.

Chell pushed him away silently, slamming the metal lid over the window.

'Hey,' Flynn complained. 'I want to see.'

Chell opened her sparkling eyes. A tear ran down her cheek.

Kelly ran to them, her face registering that of fear. 'They're coming,' she said, looking rapidly at them both. 'You two need to get out of here-'

'That won't be necessary.'

_Who the hell was that?_

Chell was about to look up for this new face, when suddenly she was hit over the head rather painfully.

Stunned, she doubled over in pain, rubbing her head. At the same time, there was a loud rustle and suddenly the world went white. It took her a moment to realise that a bag had been put over her head and that she was being constrained to the wall by more than two pairs of hands.

'Bloody hell!' she heard Flynn shout. 'Let me go!'

Chell listened as Flynn tried to put up a fight. His efforts proved useless however, when she promptly heard an awful noise and the sound of Flynn screaming in the pain that followed. He remained silent after that.

Chell closed her eyes once again, trying so hard not to imagine what was going on in the world outside her bag.

Abruptly, a voice brought her back to reality.

'This is a major security issue we have on our hands,' the person said, in a gruff voice.

The pitch of it told Chell that this was most likely a man. _What the hell, Chell. You don't need to be thinking about that right now. Break free. Help Flynn. Run._

Chell did as this voice said. But when she tried to move her arms, it was no surprise to her that she simply couldn't. In fact, she couldn't move any other part of her body apart from her head. The rest was either feeling numb or had been restrained.

The voice continued on. 'The fact that two completely ordinary test subjects broke into this private sector is a massive breach of protocol.'

Chell opened her eyes again, staring into the whiteness of the bag. Very faintly, she saw a shadow move to stand in front of it, creating a blurred silhouette of whoever was talking.

'This cannot be allowed to continue,' the man said. 'You will be withdrawn from testing until further notice. You will not be permitted to leave this facility. You will not be permitted to communicate with any other test subjects. You will remain where we tell you to be at all times. Is this clear?'

Chell nodded, wondering if they could see it.

Without warning, she felt something sharp puncture her left arm. A jolt of new liquid surged through her arm and began circulating her body, coaxing her to sleep.

And without resistance, Chell fell asleep.

Groggily, Chell awoke. She found herself lying on a cold, hard surface. Her mind was still spinning from the unfolding events. She rubbed her temples, groaning as her bones ached.

'Took your time,' Flynn wheezed, from out of the dark. He stumbled towards her, landing on the metal bench.

Chell sat upright, calibrating her senses to full function.

'Hey now,' Flynn said, softly. 'Take it easy.'

'I can't,' Chell said, frustrated. She put her head in her hands. 'I'm the one to blame. I've got us into this mess. It's my fault. We're stuck in this … prison, and … it's useless. I'm really sorry, Flynn.'

Flynn reached out and took her hand. 'Don't be so hard on yourself. You were only following your instincts.'

Chell groaned harder. 'But how are we going to get out of here?'

'We'll find a way,' he shrugged.

A thought suddenly crossed Chell's mind. _The hammer. _Excitedly, she reached into her jumpsuit and felt around. It had gone. _Well, _Chell thought. _No surprise there._

Without warning, there was a loud call. 'Oi! Lovebirds! Time to get to work.'

'Work?' Chell pondered, out loud. 'What kind of work?'

'C'mon,' the man growled, impatiently.

Chell and Flynn got up, wincing as their muscles stretched back into use. It was painful just standing up. Together, they walked to the rectangular door, which had been enforced with many bolts and other various metal parts. One by one, each component slid around, disconnecting itself from the frame. With a final hiss of the last latch, the door rumbled open, showering the dim chamber with light.

It wasn't that bright, but Chell's eyes had grown accustomed to the weak lighting and to see this, blinded her.

Feebly, she held her arm up to protect her eyes from the seemingly bleaching light. It didn't seem to work well, because she soon found that her hand was shaking a lot. This was not nervousness. This was something deeper- something Chell couldn't even being to describe.

'Move it!' Chell heard the man shout. She felt her hand shudder again. It was as though it wanted to pounce up and sock him. Anger began to pulsate through her blood, jumping to the rhythm of her pounding heart. But as quickly as it came, it left. Without seconds, she felt deflated again. Deflated and useless.

With Flynn, Chell staggered to the light. Her eyes started to adjust to the brightness. Slowly, the light began to decrease in intensity. It was still bright- and Chell had to wink her eyes to get used to it- but at least she was getting used to it. Between her blinks, she saw split second snapshots of the corridor, as she were taking photos with her eyes. The pictures burned into the darkness behind her eyes, flashing again as soon as she reopened and then closed them again.

'This way you two,' the man said, in the same rough voice.

Chell could imagine him as a short, burly man with a dark moustache and curled hair. She didn't know why, but it felt like the right body for that voice to be coming from.

'What are we doing?' Flynn croaked, steadying himself against the doorframe.

'You're gonna be shoving junk into incinerators,' he replied. 'Follow me.'

Allowing herself to be led like a lamb, Chell followed with Flynn, whose eyesight was sufficient enough to follow the man ahead of them.

Chell suddenly felt the impulse to run, but thought better of it. She wouldn't have anywhere to go, after all. She didn't even know where she was.

'Stick close Chell,' Flynn said, reassuringly.

Chell did so, and continued walking. God knows how long she had been trudging along.

They then came to a halt, and Chell could feel the heat of the incinerators against her face. It was making her sweat already.

'Here. Now get to it!' the man barked.

Chell looked down. The lighting here was considerably better, but the heat was almost unbearable. There was a metal shovel in front of her. Just as she picked it up, she heard Flynn call out to the man who had begun to walk away.

'Wait,' Flynn said, sounding unsure.

'What?' he growled, turning around and walking back to confront Flynn.

Without warning, Flynn hot bloodedly punched the man straight in the face. There was a painful crack and in surprise, he staggered back. Then he was back- and angry. Just as he was about to hit Flynn back, Chell quickly threw the shovel at Flynn, who caught it and smashed it into the man.

It was all it took for him to knock him back long enough. The time it gave Chell and Flynn was ample.

'What are you doing?' Chell said, breathlessly, as they ran out of the door and into the dark hallway.

'I don't know,' Flynn admitted, excitedly.

There was a loud roar behind them as the man regained his senses and lunged out of the room.

'ALERT THE CONTROL ROOM!' he yelled. His piercing voice bounced down the corridor, sounding down every hallway.

Chell and Flynn continued running, both frantically trying to regain their balance every time they had to turn around a corner.

'Quickly!' Flynn said, in a low, urgent voice. 'Get behind that panel there.'

Chell looked ahead, and sure enough, there was a grungy panel supported by an arm that had been pushed out of the wall and into the corridor.

As swiftly as she was able to, she crouched down and ducked under the metal arm. Then she slowly moved forwards, and Flynn quickly followed behind her.

Together they stood up and looked around. It was a small room, consisting of valves and pipes. In the corner was a large glass tube with black metal pieces holding it together- it had been partially smashed. In the middle of the room was an old computer with several wires hanging out of it. Several lights were still flashing, albeit not very brightly. Two cans of beans lay solemnly of the floor.

Flynn kicked one, and it lolled around. It was empty.

Who had been here?

Chell sat down on a rusty oil container in the corner.

Suddenly they heard footsteps.

Both Flynn and Chell fell dead silent.

The footsteps were coming from outside the panel.

'Get this fixed,' they heard the person say.

'Yes sir,' the other man replied.

'And find them,' the more important one said. 'Find them and terminate them permanently- is this understood? They must be dead. Kill them! Do whatever you need to do- just make sure they cease interfering! They must be stopped! Hell, activate and release the Jaguarets, I don't care- just kill them!'

'Understood sir.'

'Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see Mr Johnson.'

'Of course.'

There was an echo of pitter-pattering and the men departed.

'This isn't good,' Flynn whispered, as soon as the area had quietened down again.

Chell was deep in thought. 'What are _Jaguarets_?' she asked, to nobody in particular.

'No idea,' Flynn replied, sighing. 'I guess this'll have to be our home for the next couple of days … if we even know how long a day is in this place.'

'We'll just wait, Flynn,' Chell murmured. 'We'll fight back as soon as the time is right. When they come looking … we'll be ready.'


	6. Chapter 6

**One Week Later**

_Breathe Chell, breathe. _Chell fought to keep her breathing down. _Damn! You don't want to be caught do you?_

'Have you got the plans?' she heard.

'Right here,' said another man.

They sounded like scientists. She then heard the rustling of papers- it was an exchange of information, no doubt.

Chell kept herself low, becoming as small as possible. She wasn't too far away from the storeroom now …

The scientists continued talking, and Chell quickly found herself slipping into a light sleep- the kind where you fought to keep your eyes open. Sleep was one thing she wasn't getting enough of, since she and Flynn took it in turns to keep watch.

Luckily for both of them, the panel in the corridor had still not been fixed, like the rest of the tier. The entire sector was out of maintainable service- which meant the scientists were running on reserve energy, hence the low lighting and broken down panels.

In the week that Chell had been there, she had discovered that she and Flynn were taken five floors down from their testing zones.

'Is that it?' she suddenly heard.

'Yeah.'

'Very well. Good day then,' the scientist said, and they departed.

_The coast is clear._

Chell quickly crept out of the shadows, making to the nearest wall, listening for any sounds. There was none of immediate danger- only the gentle humming of the lights and the hissing of metallic valves.

Using the dark areas to her advantage, she moved from corner to corner, stopping every five seconds to listen out. It was a technique that she had developed in her time there.

Finally, the door to storeroom came up ahead, its handle twinkling in the flickering lights.

_OK Chell, breathe. Then do it. And God damn it DON'T GET CAUGHT._

_**Access granted.**_

__'Morning,' Kelly said, as she entered the room of scientists.

There was an echo of hellos and mornings as she settled down at her desk.

It had been a week since the incident in Sector CSV. Although Kelly had been caught with them, she had managed to wriggle her way out of it by claiming she just happened to be in the room with them at the same time.

No one really paid much attention about her anyway- seeing as she was new around the place, so she was let off lightly.

Carefully, Kelly swiped her card down the side of the computer, and it switched on, presenting two boxes, one for her name and the other for the password. Swiftly, she entered them and hit the enter button. It sent off the information and as quick as lightning, the information was sent back, having been verified. It logged her in.

The first thing that she did was check her messages. She had four unread ones.

_Hmm … let's see …_ '**APERTURE STAFF UPDATES RE: Third gel updates- moon power**'. _Interesting. I'll save that for later. What else? _'**GEM BAKER RE: Coffee Party!**' Kelly quickly binned the message. _Certainly won't be going to any parties like those again._

'Excuse me,' she heard.

Kelly looked up. It was Amos, whose workspace was opposite hers.

'Could I quickly borrow your stapler please?' he asked.

'Sure,' Kelly nodded, and reached into her desk, fishing out just that. Then she passed it to him.

'Thank you,' he smiled, and returned back to his desk to clip test subject papers together.

Kelly returned to her computer, checking the last two unread messages.

'**APERTURE STAFF UPDATES RE: Updated Health and Safety Regulations**', _hmm, wouldn't hurt to keep that one. What's the last email? _'**APERTURE ENGINEERING NEWS RE: Jaguarets ready to be activated!**' _Jaguarets?_

Curiously, Kelly clicked on the message, and it opened up.

"Dear fellow co-workers of Aperture. Today is a magnificent day. The latest Aperture unit has been successfully programmed and manufactured. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you- the Jaguaret! One can only see it perform to understand the power of this new device. It will push test subjects to their furthermost limits as this is the ultimate obstacle. As of today, they will be released upon two escapees from last week. Don't worry- they have been programmed to ONLY find the two test subjects- you will be safe!'

There was more, but suddenly, Kelly didn't want to read more. This was bad. Chell and Flynn were in deep trouble.

Chell sneaked down the hallway, carrying the five cans of beans as carefully as she could. She didn't want to risk putting them in her pockets in case she needed to run.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps.

_Aw man, _she thought. _Hell, hide!_

Trying not to drop anything, she hotfooted it to the nearest corner and pushed herself against the wall, keeping her breathing low and quiet. Something was wrong. She couldn't hear the usual pattering of the footsteps …

Whoever was walking was sure taking their time. Suddenly, a red beam appeared.

Her first thought: _Turrets._

Then: _Impossible!_

She looked around the corner. This was an enormous mistake. The red beam suddenly flitted to her face and locked on target. Chell barely had any time to jump to the side before several bullets sped toward her, penetrating the wall.

Now breathing heavily, she tried to maintain a clear mind.

_They're just turrets, I can take them. I'll just wait it out for a bit. Then I turn up and get it._

She decided to do just that. But without warning, the red beam reappeared.

For a split second, she got a clear shot of the thing. It was a turret … but it had changed … it was a … tiger-like object, with four legs, black counterparts, silver springs, a while glossy shell and a single red eye. The fact was … it wasn't small anymore. It was almost triple the size of the usual turrets.

This was NOT good. Turrets that could move?

Chell did the first thing that entered her head. Grabbing one of the cans, she lobbed it brutally at this new turret. It smashed into it, knocking it back slightly. By the time it had regained balance; Chell had turned and sped off.

_Keep running, _Chell told herself. _Just keep going. Don't look back. Head back to Flynn._

Then she heard a hissing noise.

_What is that?_

She turned around very quickly, and to her horror, saw the beast of a turret pouncing after her, using the strong springs in its hind legs to propel itself forwards very fast- just like a real animal. With immense force, it jumped sideways onto the wall, digging its metal claws into the wall as it clambered towards her.

Chell restrained herself from screaming. Instead, she focused all her energy into dodging the vicious attacks from the Jaguaret that was now within touching distance. She flew around a corner, and as she did, she turned very slightly, letting loose a can of beans from her hands. It dropped behind her, colliding instantly with the turret.

There was the sound of wires snapping as it hurtled to the ground, sparks flying in aggression and annoyance. However, the Jaguaret was not dead. It picked itself up within moments and continued to give chase.

Chell had run on ahead, but she knew she wasn't away.

The sound of deep growling filled the air as she reached a crossroad. It was either left or right. _Choose, Chell, choose now!_

The windy path she had taken to escape from the Jaguaret has cost her orientation and now she was lost. The growling suddenly got louder and Chell took off again, deciding to head right.

As she sprinted, carefully protecting the remaining cans of beans, she heard one final growl before suddenly seeing the dark underside of the Jaguaret.

It had jumped above Chell, stretching its body in all its glory and motorised beauty, extending its hind legs back and its front legs forwards, seamlessly gliding through the air with a swift cut- emulating the perfect jump a real jaguar would make.

Time seemed to slow as Chell saw this happen. She found herself looking upwards and admiring the handiwork of the turret beast, before promptly realising it could be the last thing she ever saw if she didn't do something fast. Before she was aware of doing, or even thinking it, Chell's hand moved from her body towards what she was seeing. The force at which this happened was so vast that the Jaguaret's arc of motion abruptly changed course, and it connected with a low hanging light, dimly swinging from the ceiling.

A burst of electrifying electricity shot through the faulty wires of the turret and it instantaneously shut off, before exploding due to the impact.

Chell ran on, stumbling over broken tiles and gaps in the floor whilst ducking to avoid the pieces of the Jaguaret that were flying above her head.

She finally reached a recognisable passageway. As she stopped to get her bearings right, there was something in the corner of eye that caught her attention. A panel had clicked open, and behind it there was a robot- human like in structure- two arms, two legs and a body. Its eyes were a mauve shade, and its shell was a simple white coating. It was about to say something before the panel suddenly hissed and then proceeded to close.

Just before the panel locked into place, piece of paper flew through the gap and fluttered gently towards Chell, who leant down and picked it up curiously. She was about to read it when she then heard the sound of movement. Whether it were the turrets or the officers, she wasn't about to wait around and find out.


	7. Chapter 7

Fortunately, the rest of the journey was easier to handle. Chell did not run into any other 'Jaguarets' and she managed to avoid the scientists and engineers to the best of her abilities.

Chell reached the opening, gripping the three cans of beans tightly, before suddenly realising she was still clutching the piece of paper she had found earlier.

She ducked down into the hidden room, where she found Flynn laying down, staring up at the ceiling. He heard her come in and sat up quickly, his hand feeling his stomach embarrassingly as it rumbled.

Chell suppressed a smile as she threw him a can of the beans, which he caught gratefully before prising open with a piece of sharp metal he had been perfecting during Chell's time away.

Unperturbed by Chell's glances, he scooped a handful of the baked beans out with his hands and into his mouth.

Chell was about to say something before shaking her head and instead sitting down, putting the two other cans in the corner of the room by the other supplies they had somehow managed to gather. A dim purplish light flickered on and off above the cans and other objects, illuminating the corner of the room eerily. Chell glanced upwards to the source of the strange light. It seemed to be coming from a broken lamp that had been wedged between two broken panels in the ceiling.

That left the piece of paper.

Carefully, she opened it, her hands trembling for some weird reason. She was half-expecting something like a drawing, or a scrawled message giving them some sort of instruction, but to Chell's dismay, she saw nothing. It was blank. She tried turning it over, but there was nothing on the paper at all. Nothing.

_What was I even hoping for? _Chell sighed, and she stood up, moving towards the supplies corner, with the weird light still flickering. She threw the piece of paper down onto the beans, and walked away.

Flynn had finished his can of beans and was licking his lips, savouring the taste.

Chell sat back against a wall, wondering what to do. In some odd way, she almost missed testing- not because it was fun, but because it gave her a sense of freedom. Sure, she knew the beady eyed scientists were constantly watching, but she felt so free when she was out there- and every time she reached the exit, maybe for one stupid moment, she felt free- free from being stuck inside a routine.

She closed her eyes.

And to fly. How it felt to soar through the air- like a majestic eagle, cutting through the air without a care in the world. It felt glorious. Oh, how she missed that.

Flynn snapped out of her trance. 'Aren't you hungry?' he asked.

Chell hadn't been until he had asked. Suddenly, she was ravenous. 'I am now,' she sighed, as she got up to get a can.

Her legs felt worn and achy, like she had run marathon. It was not pleasant at all.

Chell walked to the corner of the room and bent down to pick up one of the white cans, but as she did so, the piece of paper shifted into view. At first she thought nothing of it, but as the dim light clicked on, something appeared on the paper- but as soon as Chell had seen it, it was gone, disappearing as soon as the light flickered off.

Her eyes widened, and she picked the paper up, dropping the beans to the ground with a loud _clunk_. She raised the paper to the light, watching as words appeared and vanished in the flickering of the light.

Her heart beat fast as her eyes worked their way across the page, piecing the words together.

_**A HYENA SMILES WHITE**_

_Oh no. Another cryptic message. What does it mean?_

'What you got?' Flynn asked, walking towards Chell.

'Here,' she said, showing him the piece of paper.

Flynn read it out loud, and Chell watched as his face became puzzled.

'I take it you don't know either then?' she asked, knowing the answer already.

Flynn studied the paper again. 'Hyenas … aren't they the ones that laugh a lot?'

'I think so …' Chell said slowly, deep in thought.

'Maybe the white bit is a reference to their teeth.'

'Maybe …'

Flynn gave the paper back to Chell, who put it inside her jumpsuit. 'Whatever it means,' he said, slowly, 'do you think it could be something to do with us?'

'I honestly don't know,' said Chell, shaking her head, true to her word.

Flynn paused for a moment, thinking about something. 'And what about Thana, and Nelson?' he eventually asked. 'Do you think they're OK?'

'They'll be fine,' Chell said, reassuringly. 'Don't worry.' Inside, she knew she could only hope so much.

She didn't feel hungry anymore.


	8. Chapter 8

Kelly kept quiet as she paced down the hallway. Other scientists walked past her, deep in their conversations. Several engineers passed by too, each one of them had their toolboxes on them. Most of the employees preferred to walk around in pairs or groups of three. It kept them company. Kelly walked alone. She was going to be paired with another scientist soon, however.

Her eyes darted around nervously- veins starting to bulge as her heart rate crept upwards quickly. Kelly was following an engineer. She held the clipboard to her face, pretending to read it as the engineer turned an abrupt left in the corridor.

Quickly, she trailed after him, and just as she reached the corner, she saw as he put his toolbox down outside a toilet door and go into the toilet.

Kelly held her breath. This was it.

Light-footedly, she crept towards the box. Hands trembling, she undid the clasp holding the lid down and lifted it noiselessly.

From behind the toilet door, she heard a toilet flush.

Kelly nearly squeaked in fear, and her hand shot into the box, reaching for something- _anything _metal. Her hand closed around a hefty object, and she lifted it. It was a crowbar. _It'll do_, she thought, quickly, before hurriedly closing the lid and locking the toolbox.

She placed the crowbar in her lab coat and got up, striding away as fast as she could.

As she turned around the corner, she heard the toilet door open.

Once clear, Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. But it wasn't over yet.

Nervously, she made her way towards the lobby, where the scientists were slowly queuing to get their coffee from the robot in the corner of the room.

Kelly decided she needed a coffee boost too, and got in line. After several minutes, there was the sound of a chiming, and she looked up at the clock. Break was over- the scientists would return to their workstations and it was time for the test subjects to go to sleep.

She looked behind her. The test subjects were getting up and leaving to their dorms. Kelly looked back, there was only one person left in front of her.

The robot filled his cup with a frothy coffee and gave it to the scientist, who said thank you and left. Kelly was now the only person in the lobby.

'The usual coffee please, and two sugars,' Kelly said, and the robot nodded, its two green eyes obedient and peaceful. Kelly couldn't help but admire its handiwork. Its body was a glossy white shell, humanoid in form, it was amazing.

As the robot filled her cup and handed it to her, his eyes started to flicker. Kelly took the coffee, unperturbed.

She turned around to leave, slowly sipping from the cup, but as she did, a voice called to her. A voice from the coffee robot.

'_Wait_,' it said- its voice crackling, like it was coming out of a radio.

Kelly froze, her eyes widening. Slowly, she turned around. The robot's eyes had turned a shade of mauve.

'_It is nearing time. It is nearing … time …_' it said, though the robot had no mouth. The eyes were furrowed in though, displaying its expressions.

'What is?' Kelly asked, curiously.

'_The time to run … we will … meet again_.'

With that, its eyes started to flicker again, until the mauve had gone, and the green was back.

'Thank you for your custom,' it said, in the usual voice.

Kelly quickly glanced at the clock again, realising tonight was the night.

Without hesitation, she ran to the door leading towards the dorms. Kelly pressed down on the handle so hard her knuckles turned white, and she flung the door open, running down the corridor until she recognised the signage- 3L.

Gasping for breath, she tried the handle for the door.

It was too late.

It had locked.

_Oh no you don't! _Kelly thought angrily, as she took a card that was dangling around her neck and pushed it against the small box beside the door. Several words appeared- what it was, Kelly didn't bother reading. Hurriedly, she punched several numbers in and a single word appeared that she wanted to see.

**Override?**

She pushed several more buttons and the door opened.

Time was running out.

Quickly, she ran into the room just as the light switched off.

Without thinking, she pulled the crowbar out of her coat and ran to Thana's pod. Using a force she had never though was possible of her, she brought down the crowbar on the glass, and within seconds, cracks appeared.

Inside the pod, Thana woke.

Kelly signalled to Thana's feet, and she knew what to do.

Then, Kelly ran to Nelson's pod and did the same. It was done. Relieved, she stood back and watched as Thana and Nelson used their long fall boots to break the glass and get out.

Within minutes, they had escaped.

'So this is it,' Thana said, trying to suppress the excitement in her voice.

'Sure is,' Nelson said, doing the very same.

'I have to go back to the labs for now,' Kelly said. 'But I'll meet up with you later. There are some things I need to do.'

Thana and Nelson nodded.

'Take this.' The young scientist handed Nelson the crowbar. 'Also, I left a sack behind the potted plant in the lobby earlier. You'll find some useful things in there.'

The two test subjects nodded again.

'I've already activated the maintenance lifts- you should be able to use it to get to sector where Chell and Flynn are.'

'Kelly,' Thana started, 'thank you so much. How can we return the favour?'

Kelly didn't bother thinking. 'All that I ask is that you find Chell and Flynn. This whole place …' her voice trailed off as she looked around. 'It stinks to high heaven. Burning people at night? It's murder. It's wrong. Somebody has to fight back. It's up to us.' She looked at Thana, then to Nelson. 'Now, go!'

The two test subjects needed to hear no more, and together, they took off towards the lobby, leaving Kelly to return to the labs.

Thana and Nelson reached the empty lobby. Discarded cups and pieces of paper lay solemnly on the hard floor. It seemed ghostly. Usually, it was bustling. It was so strange to see it this quiet.

'Did she say the potted plant?' Thana asked.

'Yeah,' Nelson said, pointing to one of plants in the lobby. 'That one.'

Thana quietly crept towards it and moved the pot aside, to reveal a dark grey rucksack. She carefully opened it and found several items of food, including a few heavy cans of beans, a small computer and a portal gun.

'Here,' Thana said, giving the crowbar to Nelson. He equipped it as Thana slung the rucksack over her shoulders, equipping the portal gun for herself.

'Let's go,' Nelson said, nodding towards one of the doors in the corner of the room.

Armed and alert, they set off into the darkness.


End file.
